Sample MOU

Memorandum of Understanding for the Joint Appointment of [FirstName LastName] in the [Department 1] and [Program 2]

[Effective Date] 

This agreement outlines the circumstances of the joint academic appointment of [faculty member’s name] to the Department of [department name] in the [division name] and the Program of [program name] in the [division name]. This appointment acknowledges the growing collaborative efforts between these two units.

Administrative Home Department

The Department of [department name] is designated as the administrative home department. Office and laboratory space will be provided by the Department of [department name]. The Department of [department name] will also supply administrative support including travel arrangements as well as equipment, research support, including contracts and grants administration. Professor [LASTNAME] will participate in the selection of graduate students in the Department of [department name].

 All policies for assistantships, internal grants, leave awards, and research awards will be consistent with all faculty in the [division of the home department].

Teaching Assignment and Expectations

The [faculty member’s name]’s teaching load will be governed by university guidelines for workload policy and the corresponding workload policies in the Department of [department name] and the Program of [program name]. Teaching assignments will generally be divided proportionately across the Department of [department name] and the Program of [program name]. Care will be taken to coordinate the schedule of Professor [LASTNAME]’s classes so that the meeting times do not overlap and there is sufficient time for traveling between classes. Time will also be allowed each week for research, advising, and service responsibilities.  Each academic year, the chair of Department of [department name] will communicate  with the faculty member and the director of the Program  of [program name] to determine the faculty member’s teaching and advising responsibilities in accordance with department, program, and University workload policy and this MOU.

At the time of the application for promotion and tenure, [LASTNAME] will be expected to offer evidence of continuing achievement of high-quality teaching through multiple assessment measures, including:

  • Receiving favorable reviews on teaching/course evaluations which should be administered in every course in all semester and terms;
  • Receiving favorable, multiple peer reviews of teaching;
  • Providing one or more assessments of student learning;
  • Undertaking a reasonable share, appropriate for probationary faculty, of work with students outside of scheduled classes.

The Department of [department name] and Program of [program name] will schedule and administer the course evaluations of their respective classes.

Advising Expectations

[LASTNAME] will not be assigned advisees during the first year of appointment. Following the first year, [LASTNAME] will be assigned advisees in the Department of [department name] each year.

Service Expectations

Professor [LASTNAME]’s committee assignments will be coordinated annually between the department and program. Service in both the department and program will be expected to be approximately half of that expected for a full FTE. Professor [LASTNAME] should be prepared to participate in the faculty meetings of Department of [department name] and the Program of [program name] as a voting member and to serve on thesis and ad hoc committees as appropriate.

It is understood that it may not be possible to attend every meeting in both the Department of [department name] and the Program of [program name], given the nature of the joint appointment.  Professor [LASTNAME] is expected to attend at least two faculty meetings in the Department of [department name] and at least one faculty meeting in the Program of [program name] each semester.

Research and Scholarship Expectations

Throughout the probationary period, [LASTNAME]’s evaluation and promotion and tenure committee will provide guidance regarding scholarship expectations. Such guidance is provided via the annual review process (described below) and will include both summative and formative commentary.

Professor [LASTNAME] should develop and articulate a strategy for professional success. The Department of [department name] and the Program of [program name] expect a pattern of scholarly activity that is characterized by a sense of growth and continuous productivity. Candidates are expected to provide evidence of productivity in several, but not all, areas such as: authored and edited books, articles in peer reviewed journals, presentations at national or international conferences, and competitive grants. Multiple entries per year are expected. Candidates must document the quality of scholarly activity by providing acceptance rates, circulations, journal rankings, conference attendance, publication impact, etc., where appropriate and when available.

Judgment as to “high quality” research and its “prospective continuation” are made by the Promotion and Tenure Committee, the chair of the Department of [department name], the director of the Program of [program name], the dean of [division name], the University Promotion and Tenure Committee, the Provost, and the President. The judgment as to the quality, quantity, and prospective continuation of work produced by the candidate is strongly informed by the external evaluators.  Such evaluators should be well respected and established researchers who are able to take an objective and comprehensive view of the candidate’s work and its relation to the broader body of research within which it is placed.

Assigned Research Appointments and Faculty Improvement Leaves will be recommended by both Department of [department name] and Program of [program name] prior to the start date of the leave.

Annual Evaluations and Promotion & Tenure

Miami University policy requires that with a joint academic appointment, any future reviews for advancement should be coordinated between the involved units. The Department of [department name] will take the lead on processing review cases. An ad hoc committee will be constituted to perform the annual reviews and reviews for promotion and tenure. The chair of the Department of [department name] in consultation with the director of the Program of [program name] will build the committee. The committee membership will come from both Department of [department name] and Program of [program name] and include four members. Three will come from the Department of [department name] and one from the Program of [program name]. The chair of the committee will be elected by a vote of the committee members.

The committee’s letters will be forwarded to the chair of Department of [department name] and the director of Program of [program name]. The chair of the Department of [department name] and the director of the Program of [program name] will each write a letter and then forward their letters and the committee’s letter to the dean. Every effort will be made to ensure that the department and program agree on whether a merit increase is justified and on the size of the increase.  However, in the event that they cannot agree, then the department chair and program director will submit a recommendation to the Dean of [name of appropriate dean(s)], and the dean(s) will resolve the issue. If the deans are unable to resolve the issue, the Provost will make a final decision.


We agree to the joint appointment of Professor [LASTNAME] as proposed above. Signed and Dated by:

Faculty Member

Department Chair

Program Director

Dean(s)

Provost